Residential Real Estate Broker Industry Council Update

Summary of activities since May 2022 from Sano Stante, Chair

I would like to first thank those of you who participated in the various engagements and consultations RECA and our Industry Council have undertaken this spring. Discussions held at the Broker Forums and the Spring Stakeholder Engagement Session were constructive and well attended. It was also refreshing to be able to hold an in-person event again. Your feedback received at these sessions will help shape future Residential Real Estate Broker Industry Council initiatives.I’m aware of the time it takes to provide your feedback and attend engagement sessions amongst your busy schedules, and I remain very grateful to be a part of an engaged and passionate group of individuals, dedicated to enhancing our trade.

Education Divestment

The divestment date for licensing education was June 1, 2022. I am pleased to report that the Fundamentals of Real Estate and Practice of Real Estate courses are now both offered by two third-party course providers (RELO and Alberta Real Estate Association). These courses will no longer be available through RECA. However, the Real Estate Broker Program will remain offered by RECA until an approved third-party provider’s course becomes recognized.

Moving forward, new entrants to the industry will be able to choose the course provider that best fits their learning style. Brokers and hiring managers should make sure they become familiar with the providers as they become available, as new providers are being added regularly. To help new licensees choose, RECA is posting program success rates and average exam scores for each course provider and course, as this information is made available to us.

RECA will continue its full divestment of education by the November 30, 2022 statutory deadline.

Strategic Planning

The deadline to provide feedback on RECA’s proposed Strategic Priorities was June 9 and the survey has now closed. There was considerable participation in the survey from our industry. The feedback received was taken into consideration and helped us determine that the direction we had proposed was the correct path forward. RECA will be moving forward with the proposed Strategic Priorities informing the RECA 2022-2025 Strategic Plan.

Rules Review

As I’ve discussed before, the Real Estate Act Rules first came into effect nearly 16 years ago, in October of 2006. To ensure the Rules are relevant to the current real estate environment, RECA has recently launched a comprehensive review of them. This Rules review is expected to take approximately two years to complete, as we want to make sure all stakeholders’ voices and ideas are heard. We hope you all will be involved in this important process. A Steering Committee will consult and recommend proposed changes to RECA’s four Industry Councils. The Steering Committee is comprised of members from each industry regulated by RECA. We have named Brad Kopp, Council Member as the representative from the Residential Real Estate Broker Industry Council.

Renewals Upcoming

A reminder that we are approaching the end of another fiscal year for RECA, which means it is time for licensees to renew their licence by the September 30, 2022 deadline. The myRECA system is currently open for renewals for all licensees. As mentioned in our Board Chair’s message, I am very pleased to reiterate that there will be no increase to renewal fees for the 2022/2023 licensing year.

I can already tell it’s going to be another eventful licensing year for residential real estate. The Alberta residential real estate market remains strong and our Industry Council is working hard to ensure we have the correct guidelines in place that will allow our industry to continue to thrive. A properly regulated industry is a healthy industry—one that consumers can trust. I look forward to working with you all to continue to ensure our rules and regulations are reflective of what our industry requires.